Preempting what will almost certainly be the Top Ten on David Letterman's show is this list of the Top Ten Reasons Why The New York Yankees Choked.
My favorite? Clearly it has to be this one:
Detroit Tigers tricked the Yankees by playing devious "fundamental baseball"
That about sums it up. Damn those Tigers for emphasizing good pitching and fielding!
How about:
10. karma
9. karma
8. karma
7. karma
6. karma
5. karma
4. karma
3. karma
2. karma
1. karma
I like number 3:
"Yankees were unable to sign or trade for David Ortiz, Manny Fernandez, Albert Pujols, Carlos Delgado, Jermaine Dye, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, Jim Thome, Frank Thomas, and Troy Glaus in the off-season."
I wonder whether inclusion of "Manny Fernandez"--an NHL goalie--was a mistake, or an intentional action by "The World Leader in Canadian Humour, Parody, & Satire".
I think you got the right reason, Orac. But that gives me furiously to think. Can a skeptic like you root for a bunch of 'fundamentalists'?
Sadly, my previous comment is only 95% a joke, if Monaghan still owns the team -- I lose track of ownership shuffles.
I really do have problems rooting for teams like the Rockies because of the hyper-Christian atmosphere they have in their clubhouse, and I would have the same trouble rooting for a team which further enriches one of the serious funders of the Catholic version of the Religious right.
What do you think, am I being too PC here? Seriously, it is a question that bothers me.
As a baseball fan, I congratulate the Detroit Tigers on a magnificent series...they have timely hitting, aggressive pitching, and superb leadership, and made the $200 million Yankees look lifeless and panicky.
My wife, back in June, picked the Mets and Tigers to win their pennants, and I agreed with her then...I felt both teams were the hungriest of the contenders, based on my knowledge of the game...Kathy based it purely on guts.
As a Yankee fan, I am utterly devastated...I hate to say it, but I think Alex Rodriguez has to be traded. He clearly can't seem to withstand the intense pressure of New York. He goes to bat every atbat trying to hit a seven-run home run, which is, of course, statistically impossible. I actually know how that feels, from my own life...every time I would answer a question in history class, and the teacher would give me that little smirk and either:
1. Rip me bloody for leaving out some fact in my answer.
2. Rip me bloodier for any mistake.
3. If nothing was left out, he or she would ask, "What color was Washington's white horse?" or "Who was the 10th man from the left on Juno Beach?" At which point, 33 kids in the classroom had a nice little club with which to beat me senseless for the next seven weeks.
This is the worst collapse the Yankees have had since 2001, which was the turning point in the team's history. It has been nothing but disaster since then, and I don't see any improvement on the horizon...so Yankee-haters should be delighted.
Kiwiwriter,
Honest question, not meant to rub salt in: I'm curious as to how you can consider the loss to Detroit a worse collapse than the 2004 ALCS, when they dropped four straight to the Red Sox after being up 3 games to 0.